Internet Speeds

[TheVizGuy]

Morning guys and gals.
I thought I would come here as I recieved great advice about my new PC build and so thought I may get some pointers towards WiFi speeds also.
I am connected to the Internet via Ethernet cable direct into the PC. Running speed tests I get a +50Mb download speed however whenever I download anything its always capping just below 7MB/s.
Is this because Mb and MB are different and that if I am reporting 50Mb download, in reality that is around the 7MB range? Owing to the 8bits in a byte?
Any help would be appreciated, even to just confirm that I have a measly 6MB download....!
Cheers

Edit: To add that my WiFi status says Speed is 526.5Mbps however in the Task Manager when downloading it caps at around 58Mbps....

 

[Martinr36]

yep 50 Mb is 6.25MB

 

[ubuysa]

MB is mega bytes, Mb is mega bits. With 8 bits to a byte Mb is 8 times larger than MB.

Edit: To add that my WiFi status says Speed is 526.5Mbps however in the Task Manager when downloading it caps at around 58Mbps....

What type of WiFi are you using? If it's set to 802.11g then that is limited to 54Mbps. Also, if you're a long way from the access point or if there are walls and/or structures between you and the access point then that will degrade the signal and lower the maximum speed.

 

[TheVizGuy]

MB is mega bytes, Mb is mega bits. With 8 bits to a byte Mb is 8 times larger than MB.


What type of WiFi are you using? If it's set to 802.11g then that is limited to 54Mbps. Also, if you're a long way from the access point or if there are walls and/or structures between you and the access point then that will degrade the signal and lower the maximum speed.

Oh I am not sure actually what type, how would I find that out?

 

[ubuysa]

Oh I am not sure actually what type, how would I find that out?

Connect via WiFi then go to Settings > Network & Internet > WiFi and then click on the network icon (it will have the name of your SSID and Connected, secured). Scroll down to IP Settings and the protocol will tell you what type (or flavour) of WiFi you're using. Post a screenshot if you're not sure how to read that.

 

[TheVizGuy]

Connect via WiFi then go to Settings > Network & Internet > WiFi and then click on the network icon (it will have the name of your SSID and Connected, secured). Scroll down to IP Settings and the protocol will tell you what type (or flavour) of WiFi you're using. Post a screenshot if you're not sure how to read that.

Mine just has IP Settings>IP Assignment: Automatic (DHCP).

I do think it's 802.11g as in my Advanced Settings it just comes up with 802.11 Settings.

 

[ubuysa]

Mine just has IP Settings>IP Assignment: Automatic (DHCP).

I do think it's 802.11g as in my Advanced Settings it just comes up with 802.11 Settings.

Post a screenshot of the display I suggested above.

 

[TheVizGuy]

Specs

 

[TheVizGuy]

I see this is actually a 802.11n and not g.

 

[ubuysa]

I see this is actually a 802.11n and not g.

It is, which means I don't know why you're only getting 58Mbps. I do notice that your link speeds are much lower that 802.11n is capable of....

 

[TheVizGuy]

It is, which means I don't know why you're only getting 58Mbps. I do notice that your link speeds are much lower that 802.11n is capable of....

I am not sure what the issue is in all honesty. I am at a loss.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I am not sure what the issue is in all honesty. I am at a loss.

What is your internet service? What speeds do you pay for?

 

[TheVizGuy]

What is your internet service? What speeds do you pay for?

Sky Superfast with a WiFi Boost would you believe it

 

[SpyderTracks]

Sky Superfast with a WiFi Boost would you believe it

But what speeds?

 

[Martinr36]

Sky Superfast with a WiFi Boost would you believe it

 

[SpyderTracks]

View attachment 25029

So that's averaging 59Mbpswhich is likely why that's your cap. It's particularly dodgy advertising as they've used MBPS which could well lead you to imagine that it's MegaBytes per second, but any internet speed across any provider is measured in Megabits per second.

It correctly states it if you drill into the package:

Sky will likely intentionally have done that and will claim "oh it's just all in capitals" but it's intentionally misleading. I wouldn't be surprised if they get fined for that advertising.

Most browsers will normally measure in MB/s

This is Edge browser:

Windows task manager though will show Mbps:

It's a bit of a minefield really.

You have to make sure you're reading the right measurements.

But 50Mb is a fairly reasonable connection for broadband, especially if you're suburban. In cities, you'd be looking at about 10 times that average wise on fibre optic, or certainly 300Mbps.

Internet speeds are totally separate to wifi speeds though, important not to mix the two. Your wifi will be capable of far higher speeds on the internal network but that's only applicable when transferring on the internal network so computer to computer at home.

When you're downloading from the internet, that's always capped at the max that your internet service provides.

The reason your connecting to your wifi via wireless N only could be down to your router not supporting later standards. The wifi status showing 500 or so mbps is likely the speeds achievable over your internal network.

This is something of hot contention and they're starting to accept that they need some standardisation with all this. There's a new metric which is MiB which stands for MebiByte which things are starting to move towards now:

What is mebibyte (MiB)? | Definition from TechTarget

Explore the meaning of mebibyte (MiB), how it compares with megabyte and why there's confusion between the binary and decimal system.

searchstorage.techtarget.com

 

[TheVizGuy]

So that's averaging 59Mbpswhich is likely why that's your cap. It's particularly dodgy advertising as they've used MBPS which could well lead you to imagine that it's MegaBytes per second, but any internet speed across any provider is measured in Megabits per second.

It correctly states it if you drill into the package:

View attachment 25030

Sky will likely intentionally have done that and will claim "oh it's just all in capitals" but it's intentionally misleading. I wouldn't be surprised if they get fined for that advertising.

Most browsers will normally measure in MB/s

This is Edge browser:

View attachment 25031


Windows task manager though will show Mbps:

View attachment 25032

It's a bit of a minefield really.

You have to make sure you're reading the right measurements.

But 50Mb is a fairly reasonable connection for broadband, especially if you're suburban. In cities, you'd be looking at about 10 times that average wise on fibre optic, or certainly 300Mbps.

Internet speeds are totally separate to wifi speeds though, important not to mix the two. Your wifi will be capable of far higher speeds on the internal network but that's only applicable when transferring on the internal network so computer to computer at home.

When you're downloading from the internet, that's always capped at the max that your internet service provides.

The reason your connecting to your wifi via wireless N only could be down to your router not supporting later standards. The wifi status showing 500 or so mbps is likely the speeds achievable over your internal network.

This is something of hot contention and they're starting to accept that they need some standardisation with all this. There's a new metric which is MiB which stands for MebiByte which things are starting to move towards now:

What is mebibyte (MiB)? | Definition from TechTarget

Explore the meaning of mebibyte (MiB), how it compares with megabyte and why there's confusion between the binary and decimal system.

searchstorage.techtarget.com

Thank you for such a comprehensive overview. I had wondered whether Sky were misleading their advertising for this.

Appreciate it!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Just as an additional as it's quite enlightening, a little bit about broadband providers as that's quite a minefield also.

I know all this because a friend was a director at BT up until fairly recently. I will make a disclaimer that BT have been quite hammered for anti-competitive practices in the last few years and have had to sell off parts of their business in lieu of that in recent years, so things may have improved.

Essentially, across the UK, there are only 2 main internet providers:

BT - copper infrastructure averaging around 50mbs
Virgin - fibre optic averaging around 300mbs

Copper has significant limitations in viable speeds and deteriorates fairly rapidly, need much more servicing.
Fibre is exponentially scalable and much more resilient at aging.

All the smaller operators like:

O2
Now
Vodafone
Sky
Talk Talk
Plusnet **
EE **

All of those are actually just companies leasing the infrastructure off BT. The only part that's actually their own is the line from the road junction to the house, the rest is owned and managed by BT. As such, on any of these providers, the max speed you can get is the same as the max speed that BT will offer you as it's exactly the same lines.

The reason this is significant is that IF anything does go wrong and you need service, with any of those providers, you'll wait substantially longer than if you were dealing direct with BT, reason being is they have to put in a request to BT to access the infrastructure, this is put through a ticketing queue and then their either granted access, or BT will say no, tell us what the issue is and we'll fix it. BUT BT INTENTIONALLY delay service requests from 3rd parties so that they maintain they're able to fix things quicker than competitors.

** There are a few caveats, the starred operators are actually BT subsidiaries, so don't have the delays in fixes. **

Also, there are a lot of smaller localised fiber providers cropping up all over the country, 1Gbps is gently starting to roll out by new companies around the country because locals have got so fed up with BT being so far behind the curve. You'll pay more for these services, but with those speeds you can understand why!!!

Also BT are starting to roll out fiber, BUT their core network across the country - the backbone if you like that connects the north with the south and abroad, is still based on copper. Now BT are proclaiming that they're pushing out Fiber to the home, which they were forced to do by the government because we've fallen so far behind in worlwide internet speeds. Initially they said all homes would be done by 2023, then it was pushed back to 2025, and it's very likely due to covid it will be pushed back a lot further again. But even then, they can't afford to replace the core backbone, and are doubling down on technologies that could improve speeds down the existing lines rather than upgrading them:

Customer engagement guide & blog | Engage Customer

Engage Customer provides leading events showcasing case study learnings from the biggest names. And here's an ongoing blog with learnings and advice.

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BT have been in serious trouble for a long time now, a few years ago they had to lose about 40% of staff because they'd screwed the numbers so badly and been hit with a lot of fines.

With rural fibre companies cropping up everywhere, and Virgin essentially owning any city landscape, plus with 5G mobile broadband looking like it will significantly disrupt home internet services anyway, BT will have to majorly transform their game in a very short space of time to remain viable on what is essentially a dead infrastructure that has no place anymore.

BT’s UK Redundancy Plan Triggers Threat of Strike from Union

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has threatened possible strike action against broadband and mobile giant BT after details of the operator's plan to slash

www.ispreview.co.uk

BT to axe 13,000 jobs and move out of central London HQ

Two-thirds of losses to be in UK, mainly from back office and middle management, as firm tries to save £1.5bn

www.theguardian.com

They also had a serious pension scams recently as well:

82,000 BT Pension Scheme members could be £34k worse-off

The retail prices index will be altered in February 2030, saving the Government £2billion a year in interest payments on inflation-linked bonds.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

BT blames human error as it reveals £500m pension deficit gaffe

Mistake by actuary comes after accounting scandal last year that wiped £8bn off its value

www.theguardian.com

 

[Bigfoot]

Many of the internet service providers have a core network area. If like me you live in an ‘off network’ area, there is no real alternative to BT, unless some local fibre company springs up. We get fibre to the cabinet and a guaranteed download speed of 24 megabits per second - not the fastest in the world.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Many of the internet service providers have a core network area. If like me you live in an ‘off network’ area, there is no real alternative to BT, unless some local fibre company springs up. We get fibre to the cabinet and a guaranteed download speed of 24 megabits per second - not the fastest in the world.

We're in the same boat although BT very recently upped the download from 35Mb to 50Mb.

Literally 5 minutes north or south, they both get virgin fibre and are on over 300Mbs, it's infuriating.